Ignition apparatus



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. MOONEY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DAYTON ENGINEERING LABORATORIES COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

IGNITION APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

Application filed March 23, 1918. Serial No. 224,299.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. MOONEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Dayton, county of Montgomery, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ignition Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to ignition apparatus for internal-combustion engines, or explosive engines, and has for its object the provision of an improved ignition unit including spark controlling devices.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide an ignition unit .1n which the same fundamental elements can be used to provide ignition equipment which.

will suit the requirements of any internalcombustion engine, with the result that the number of elements required to be manufactured will bereduced to a minimum,

thereby affording a great saving of material and labor.

It is a further object of the present 1nvention to provide an ignition unit which is adapted to replace the magneto. on internal-combustion engines having drlves and supports constructed especially for a magneto, without making any change in the construction of the engine or of the driving mechanism. Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are. clearly shown.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan View of the ignition unit with certain parts removed for the sake of clearness; and 4 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ignition unit, one of the distributer heads being shown partly in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view takenon line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 20 designates the distribute r casting or housing having a base 21 of the shape and size of the magneto bases which are usually employed in ignition systems for automobiles. Extending upwardly from the base 21 are the side walls and end walls 22 and 23. The

flanges 25 and housing 20 has a top wall 24 provided with two large openings which are surrounded by 26, for a purpose to be described. Housing 20 has a bridge 27 extending from one side wall to the other and below the top wall 24. A driving shaft 30 is supported for rotation in bearings 28 and 29, carried by walls 22 and 23, respectively, the distance from the shaft to the lower surface of base 21 being the same as the distance provided with a tongue 33 cooperating with.

a groove 34 in sleeve 35, and gear 36 is provided with a tongue 37 cooperating with a groove 38 in sleeve 35. Thus any motion imparted to sleeve 35 will be transmitted to gears 32 and 36. Extending through a straight slot 41 in the shaft 30 and through a spiral slot 42 in the sleeve 35 is a pin 40. Said pin 40 extends diametrically across the grooved sleeve 43 slidablymounted on sleeve 35 and adapted to be moved by means of yoke 44 mounted on shaft 46 and provided with studs 45 coiiperating with the groove on sleeve 43. Shaft 46 may be moved manually by means of lever- 47 which-may be connected with any; convenient controlling lever such as a lever mounted upon the steering post of an automobile. It is apparent that longitudinal movement of the sleeve 43 and consequently of the vpin 40 will cause an angular displacement of the sleeve 35 with respect to the shaft 30.

A shaft 50 is mounted for rotation upon ball bearings 51 carried by base 21, and is bored out axially at 52 to receive the lower end of the shaft 53, the upper end of which is mounted for rotation in ball bearings 60 which is mounted upon a plate 61 supported by the side wall 22 and the bridge 27. Shaft 50 carries a gear 52 which meshes with the gear 36, and at the upper end said shaftcarries a disk 54 supporting pivotally mounted centr'ifugal'weights 55, with which are associated arms 56 cofiperating with arms 57 carried by sleeve 58 which is pinned by means of pin 59'to shaft 53. It will be apparent that any movement of the centrifugal weights 55 will cause relative angular displacement between the shafts 50 and 53.

The timer cam 62 is adjustalL nted on shaft 53, which is bored longitudinally to receive the body of screw 53 having screw-threaded engagement with said shaft. Shaft 53 is slotted diametrically and longitudinally at 53, to provide resilient end members 53 which can be wedged against the inside surface of cam 62, by forcing said members apart through the action of wedge 53 which is moved axially of shaft 53 when the screw 53 is tightened. Cam 62 is provided with flattened surfaces 63 which are adapted to engage corresponding surfaces in a recess formed in the distributer rotor 64 and which is mounted upon the cam for rotation therewith. Rotor 64 carries a springpressed contact 65 for a purpose to be described. The plate 61 supports a breakerarm bracket 66 carrying breaker-arm post 67 insulated from the bracket by means of members 68. Breaker arms 69 and 69'" are pivotally mounted upon posts 67 and are held in engagement with the cam 62 by means of springs 70 and 70. The outer ends of arms 69 and 69 are provided with movable contacts 71 and 71, respectively, which cotiperate with stationary contacts 72 and 7 2, respectively, mounted upon the upturned ears 73 of the breaker-arm bracket 66. Springs 70 and 70 are connected by means of nuts 74 with terminals 75 and 76,

respectively, which are insulated from the distributer casting 20.

The shaft is mounted for rotation upon bearing 81 carried by the base 21 and on bearing 82 mounted upon plate 83 supported by wall 23 and bridge 27. Sleeve 84 is pinned by means of pin 85 to the shaft 80 and is provided at its upper end with flattened surfaces 86 adapted to engage corresponding surfaces formed in a recess provided in distributer rotor 64 which is similar in construction to rotor 64. The. shaft 80 is provided adjacent the lower end with a gear 87 meshing with gear 32.

Distributer heads 90 and 90 are mounted upon flanges 25 and 26, respectively, of the housing 20, and are provided with distributer tracks 91 which are engaged by the contacts 65 carried by the rotors 64 and 64*. Stationary distributer contacts 92 are pro vided in the distributer track, the lower sur faces of the contacts being flush with the surfaces of the track so as to come in contact with the rotary contacts 65. The upper ends of the stationary contacts 92 terminate in binding posts 93 with which the leads to the various spark plugs on the engine may be connected. The distributer heads 90 and 90 are provided with center contacts 94 which are spring pressed against the plates 65 carried by the rotors 64 and 64 and have electrical connection with the contactsj65.

The ignition system embodying the present invention includes a battery 100 which is shown grounded upon the distributer casting 101, the other terminal of the battery being connected by means of wire 102 with ignition switch 103 which carries stationary contacts 104, 105 and 106 which are engaged by a movable three-pole switch element 107.

The battery is connected by means of wire 102 with the contact 104. Contact 105 is connected with the primary winding 108 of an ignition coil, said winding being connected by wire 109 with terminal 76. The circuit continues through spring 70, breaker arm 69 through timer contacts 71 and 72, and through breaker-arm bracket 66 which is grounded upon the casting 20. Contact 106 of ignition switch 103 is connected with primary winding 112 of a second ignition coil, said winding being connected by means of wire 113 with binding post 75. The circuit continues through spring 70, breaker arm 69, contacts 71 and 72, breaker-arm bracket 66, and through the casting 20 to the battery 100. The one end of the secondary winding 110 is grounded through the battery 100 and the other end is con nected by means of the 'wire 111, with distributer rotor 64, engaging with stationary distributer contacts 92. The secondary winding 114 is grounded also through the battery 100 and connected by means of wire 115, with distributer rotor 64, cotiperating with corresponding distributer contacts 92.

The bearing plate 83, supports a bracket 98 which carries condensers 96 and 97. Condenser 96 is connected in parallel with contacts 71 and 7 2 by means of a wire 96 connecting one end of the condenser 96 with terminal 76, and by means of a ground connection with the bracket 98. Condenser 97 is connected in parallel with the contacts 71 and 72 by means of a wire 97 connecting one end of the condenser 97 with terminal 75, andby means of a ground connection with the bracket 98. H

Where the ignition unit described is to be substituted for a magneto in the magneto ignition system, all that is required is to remove the magneto from its supporting pad on the engine crank case and to replace the same with the ignition unit, connecting up the shaft 30 with the same driving connections which were used to connect the magneto armature with the engine crankshaft. In constructions wherein the engine was originally designed to be used with a magneto, the magneto driving connections are such as to cause the magneto armature to rotate at engine speed, or at one and one-half times engine speed, according as the number of cylinders are 4 and 8, or 6 and 12. The differences in speed ratios referred to is overcome by replacing the spiral gears 32, 87, 36 and 52 with gears of a different lead. so that the shafts 53 and 80 will rotate at one-half engine speed. The ignition unit is so arranged that the distributer heads 90 and the bearing plates 61 and 83 may be readily removed,'thus permitting shafts 50,

58, 80 and 30 to be drawn upwardlyout of.

tion of spiral gears of different speed ratios,-

By virtue of this construction and arrangement, the only parts which need to be changed are the spiral gears, in order to provide ignition units which may be substituted for magnetos formerly used with engines having different numbers of cylinders.

The operation of the device is as follows: The shaft 30 being rotated, 'shafts 53 and 80 will be rotated at one-half engine speed by virtue of the spiral gears which have been designed to provide the proper speed ratio with respect to the. engine crankshaft. The

cam 62 will be rotated to cause the closingand separation of the contacts in the primary circuits of the ignition coils to effect the creation of the required number of sparking impulses which in the embodiment of the invention illustrated are so distributed that 2 sparks will occur in each engine cylinder during each cycle of engine opera"- tion. By turning the switch element 107 of the ignition switch 103, the switch element 106 may be cut out so that when one of the ignition coils is operative and only 4 sparking impulses will be created for each revolution of the cam 62, and only one spark will occur in the engine cylinder during each engine cycle. By turning the switch elements 107 still farther in a clockwise direction, so that switch elements 105 andl06 are cut out, the ignition circuit will be broken. As the speed of the engine increases above a certain value, weights 55 will move awa from shaft 50 to change the relation of shaff 53 to shaft 50, to change the timing of the sparking devices. This timing may be changed manually by moving lever 49 to change the relation of shaft 30 and sleeve 35.

The ignition unit described is adapted to meet the requirements of a system for a four-cylinder engine supplying two sparks per cycle'for each cylinder. To meet the requirements of a 6-, 8-, or 12-cylinder engine, the only changes necessary would be to replace the four-lobed cam 62 with other cams having 6, 8, or 12 lobes, and to replace the .distributer heads 90 and 90 with other heads of similar construction having 6, 8, or 12 stationary contacts according to the number of cylinders to be supplied. If it is desired to furnish a unit for an 8-cylinder engine requiring one spark per cycle for each cylinder, the same four-lobed cam 62 could be used to move the breaker arms 69 and 69 alternately, the breaker arms being arranged on a modified form of breaker-arm bracket, and one of the distributer heads could be turned -l5 with respect to the other, so that the distributer rotors would function alternately. Similar re-arrangements could be. made to suit the requirements of 12- and 16- cylinder engines. Where the arrangement of engine cylinders is such that the firing intervals are unequal, special camsand distributer heads may be attached. It frequently happens that the drive from the engine to the ignition unit does not bear the same speed relation to the crank shaft on different makes of engines. These conditions can easily be met by changing the gearing between shaft 30 andshafts 50 and 80, so that shafts 30 and 50 can be made to rotate at the desired speeds.

By virtue of the construction described, it is possible to standardize and to reduce to a minimum the number of different parts required to produce any ignition unit necessary to fulfil the requirements of any engine.

I As already indicated, the number of parts only'a few of the parts are common to each unit.

It is apparent that this invention also provides an ignition unit which is adapted to replace the magneto on internal-combustion engines constructed especially for a magneto, without making any changes in the construction of the engine and driving mechanism. By this replacement, and by the addition of a battery and ignition coil, the ignition system can readily be converted from a magneto system to a battery system.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described constitutes preferred forms of embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is-as follows 1.. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing having provisions for supporting certain of an interchangeable set of distributer heads, a plurality of driven shafts mounted in the housing; distributer rotors cooperating with the distributer heads actuated by the driven shafts; a driving shaft operably connected with the driven shafts; and timing devices supported in the housing and operated by the driving shaft.

2. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing having provisions for supporting certain of an interchangeable set of distributor heads a plurality of driven shafts being adapted to support certain of a set of interchz'ingeable timer cams; distributor rotors cooperating with the distributor heads and actuated by the driven shafts; a driving shaft operably connected with the driven shafts; and timing devices supported in the housing including a timer cam mounted on one of the driven shafts.

3. In an ignition unit the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts supported by the housing; gearing connecting the driving shaft with the driven shaft; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

4:. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts; bearings for the driven shafts supported by the housing and detachable therefrom to permit the removal of the driven shafts from the housing with all parts carried by the driven shafts remaining in assembled relation therewith; gearing connecting the driving shaft with the driven shafts; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

5. In an ignition unit the combination of a housing; a driving shaft; a plurality of driven shafts; bearings for the driving shaft supported by the housing and removable therefrom to permit the removal of the driving shaft from the housing with all parts carried by said driving shaft remaining in assembled relation therewith; gearing connecting the driving shaft with the driven shafts; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

6. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts supported by the housing; gears carried by the driven shafts; gears loosely mounted on the driving shaft and meshing with the gears on the driven shafts; means forconnecting the gears on the driving shaft with the driving shaft including manually movable members for angularly displacing the gears with respect to the driving shaft; and distributing devices supported by the housing including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

7. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts sup- Jorted b the housin ears carried b the driven shafts, gears loosely mounted on the driving shaft and meshing with the gears on the driven shafts; a sleeve loosely mounted on the driving shaft for spacing the gears on the driving shaft and for connecting said gears in operative relation; manual movable devices for connecting together the sleeve and the driving shaft and for effecting the relative angular displacement thereof; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing and including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

S. In an ignition unit the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a driven shaft supported by the housing and including a plurality of ele ments; gearing connecting one of the elements with the driving shaft; an automatic speed-controlled device for connecting the elements of the driven shaft and for effecting relative angular displacement of the said elements while permitting the disconnection of said shaft elements without disassembling the automatic device; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing and including movable elements operably associated with one of the elements of the driven shaft.

9. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a. driving shaft supported by the housing; gearing carried by the driving shaft; a driven shaft supported by the housing and including a plurality of telescoping elements; a gear carried by one of the elements and meshing with the gearing on the driving shaft; an automatic speed-controlled device for connecting the elements of the driven shaft and for effecting the relative angular displacement thereof of said elements, the automatic device including a controlling element carried by one of said driven shaft elements and a controlled element carried by the other driven shaft element, said controlling and controlled ele-' ments being separable in a direction axially of the driven shaft without disassembling the automatic device; and ignition timing and distributing devices supported by the housing and including movable elements operably associated with one of the elements of the driven shaft.

10. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing having a base and side and end walls, and a bridge member located above the base and connecting the side walls, and a top wall provided with apertures surrounded by flanges for supporting certain of an interchangeable set of distributer heads; a driving shaft supported by the end walls; a plurality of driven shafts geared to the driving shaft and having bear- Correction in Letters Patent No. 1,348,368.

ings in the base; bearing plates supported by the end walls and the bridge member, and carrying other bearings for the driven shafts, said bearing plates and bridge member forming a partition dividing the housing into chambers; controlling devices for the driving mechanism located in the lower chamber; ignition timing devices located in the upper chamber, including movable members operably associated with one of the driven shafts and rotors actuated by the driven shafts adapted to cooperate with distributer heads mounted on the housing. 11. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts; gearing between the driving and driven shafts; means for supporting the driven shafts within the housing including bearing plates supported by the housing and carrying bearings for the driven shafts; ignition devices supported by the housing including condensers supported by one of said bearing plates, and including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

12. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a plurality of driven shafts; gearing between the driving and driven shafts; means for supporting the driven shafts with- [scan] in the housing including bearing plates supported by the housing and carrying bearings for the driven shafts; ignition devices supported by the housing, including ignition timing devices mounted on one of said bearing plates, and including movable elements operably associated with the driven shafts.

13. In an ignition unit, the combination of a housing; a driving shaft supported by the housing; a bearing plate removably mounted within said housing; a driven shaft including a plurality of elements journaled upon the housing and bearing plate and cooperating with the driving shaft; a timer cam mounted upon one of the driven shaft elements; a breaker lever mounted upon the bearing plate and cooperating with the timer cam; and a timer controlling device having provisions for connecting the shaft elements together and for effecting relative angular displacement between said shaft elements, while permitting the separation of said shaft elements, when the bearing plate is removed, without disassembling the timer controlling device.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

, WILLIAM H. MOONEY. Witnesses J. W. MCDONALD, IRVIN A. GREENWALD.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,348,368, granted August 3, 1920, upon the application of William H. Mooney, of Dayton, Ohio, for an improvement in Ignition Apparatus, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction follows: Page 3, line 52, for the reference-numeral 49 read 47; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the. record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of December, A.'D., 1920.

L. B. MANN,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 4 

